Since its founding 14 years ago, president and CEO Vick Aggarwala has consistently been leading SCI (Supreme Components International) Global toward its goal of being truly global.

The company is a franchised distributor of well-respected high-tech electronic and LED component brands with worldwide repute. Based in Singapore, Aggarwala has employed a lean business model to build a network of more than 1400 customers and more than 50 manufacturers across 15 countries, as well as establishing an expanding regional presence. The firm has offices in India, Thailand and Australia, and Aggarwala has also won several entrepreneurship awards.

We speak to Aggarwala about how he built his company, and the vital role that relationship-building plays in his success:

What are some of the challenges your company faces and how do you solve them?

Aggarwala: As a continuously growing business, our main challenge has been attracting and retaining competent and capable staff, whether locally or abroad. Building on a reference is the way we are handling this challenge. We try to take on people already known to the industry or to us. This could be someone we have had a direct relationship with, or may be referred to us through our industry network.

How do you build new relationships for your business?

Aggarwala: This is through various invites, especially for events which we generally get within or outside the industry. These could be seminars hosted by SPRING Singapore or other support agencies. We also build our network and relations by participating in exhibitions or get referrals for new relationships through our supplier database as their distributors. We follow up these leads actively.

How would you like a potential business partner to reach out to you?

Aggarwala: We always prefer calls. An email is a passive introduction; there’s nothing like speaking to each other and having the chance to invest a little emotion in the introduction.

What is your most effective tip for driving sales?

Aggarwala: I still feel it is all about relationships. If you have relationships that work, then even if you have challenges in your business, problems can be solved more amicably. With a purely sales focus, you might find success once or twice. The repeat sales are driven by differentiating yourself through building long-term meaningful relationships.

What do you think about a business card management service such as Sansan?

Aggarwala: This is an excellent tool that sales organisations actually need for effective and more impactful management of information. For instance, having contact information available, especially if on a mobile, is tremendously handy!